A man who had gone to Rabindra Sarobar for a morning walk fell unconscious on the road and later died in hospital on Saturday. He was identified as Swami Chaitanyananda, 58, who led the Chinmaya Mission here.

Around 8am, several morning walkers spotted a man in a red round-neck T-shirt lying unconscious on the road near the Bengal Rowing Club and alerted police. Officers of Rabindra Sarobar police station took him to MR Bangur Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

“There were no marks of external injury on his body. Post-mortem also ruled out any foul play,” said an officer of Rabindra Sarobar police station.

His identity was established when disciples from Chinmaya Mission noticed that the monk, who had left for morning walk, was missing from their Sarat Bose Road centre. When they went to the lake to look for him, they were told that an elderly person had been taken to the MR Bangur Hospital after he fell unconscious. By the time they reached the hospital, the monk had passed away, said a police officer.

Swami Chaitanyananda was to deliver Shreemad Bhagvath Katha from May 1-7 at Kalakunj on Shakespeare Sarani, an official of the Chinmaya Mission said.

According to the official website of the organisation, Chinmaya Mission was established in India in 1953 by devotees of the Vedanta teacher Swami Chinmayananda. The mission follows the Vedic teacher-student tradition (guru-shishya parampara).

Officials at the Chinmaya Mission here said the monk held MCom and MPhil degrees and had served as Acharya at various centres of Chinmaya Mission in Assam, the Andamans, Goa, Satna, Allahabad and Boston in the US.